1Professor, Department of Physiology, Maulana Azad Medical College, Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, New Delhi
2Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology, ESIC Medical College, NH-3, NIT, Faridabad, Haryana
The autonomic nervous system is of great importance in the regulation of cardiovascular system under both physiological and pathological states. In adults gender differences in the incidence and clinical course of a range of cardiovascular states is well recognized. Also, most of the studies exploring gender differences in ANS activity have been done mainly in adults. Not much work has been done to assess the gender differences in ANS activity in children.
The main objective of our study was to first determine the baseline ANS activity in children and also compare it between male and female children in the age group 5 to 10 years.
In the present study autonomic function tests were conducted in 30 male and 30 female children aged between 5 and 10 years. We performed tests for parasympathetic function (resting heart rate standing to lying ratio, 30: 15 ratio and Valsalva ratio) and tests to assess sympathetic functions (blood pressure response to hand grip test and cold pressor response).
No gender differences were found amongst the said age group as regards to ANS activity.
This suggests that gender difference in ANS activity are limited to adolescent and adult age group only and may indicate the role of sex hormones in cardiac autonomic modulation.
Autonomic function tests, Pre-pubertal children, gender differences
